A WINTER'S TALE
by Kirbysbabe
Summary: This story was based on something that happened during the Battle of the Bulge. I hop you like it.


_Copyright: 05/2012 _

_Fan-Fiction based on TV Show Combat! Copyright Selmur Production, Inc, ABC, Image Productions etc._

_Disclaimer: Combat! and its characters do not belong to me, t__his WWII story is a piece of fan-fiction__ and I am not being compensated in any tangible way for this story._

_Indicates a foreign language_

**A WINTER'S TALE**

Balancing a small tray of empty beer glasses Sophie wove her way to a small booth. She smiled at the men sitting there. The men looked like a can of sardines. "Mr. LeMay the room you requested will be ready tout suite."

"Thank you Sophie."

They all had promised to spend Christmas together five years after the war. It was December 20, 1950.

Each man had wanted the others to spend Christmas in their hometown. Kirby figured that he and Sarge had the upper hand since they both lived in Illinois. They decided to draw straws. Kirby couldn't believe it when Caje pulled the shortest straw.

"You'll love New Orleans, it has beauty, music, history and a style all its own. Also, the weather is wonderful that time of year. Most importantly, we will be together."

Sophie motioned for the men to follow her. The private room was ready. As the men entered the room they all noticed that it was all decked out for Christmas. The men sat down at the table.

"Sophie, our wives will be joining us shortly. They are trying their best not to miss any shops," laughed Caje.

"I'll show them in as soon as they get here."

"I have to admit it Caje, New Orleans is beautiful. It's not as warm as you said it would be; although I think we'd all take 55 degrees any day of the week over our Midwestern weather, " said Kirby.

"I can't believe how quickly these years have gone by," said Doc. "We're all old married men. By the way Kirby, congratulations; your wife told mine that you're expecting baby number two. "

"Yep, Laura's due the end of June, we're hoping for a boy this time. Ya know Doc your right. We are old married men. In the old days we all would have been flirting with that pretty girl Sophie. I just kept thinkin' about how tired she must be at the end of the day after taking care of all those customers. "

"That's all we need, Kirby; our wives catching us flirting with a pretty girl," said Sarge. We'd all be in the dog house!"

As if on cue the women walked into the room.

"You all have a guilty look on your faces," said Doc's wife.

Kirby smiled at the women. "Naw, we're just reminiscin' about the old days."

"When Bill smiles like that I know he's up to something," laughed Laura.

Billy thought he better try and change the conversation before it got out of hand. "Hey guys, do remember where we were December 20th, 1944?"

"I do," said Sarge. I'm surprised you remember Billy."

"What did happen?" said the wives in unison.

Sarge got a faraway look on his face. "Well, let me see; it was exactly 6 years ago to the day...

The squad had just come off R & R. They needed some time to blow off steam. The men had been on the line slugging it out long before the offensive had begun.

They now were encamped near the town of Bollendorf in Luxembourg.

"I'm going over to the CP and check in with Lieutenant Hanley. Hold the fort till I get back," said Saunders.

The lieutenant noticed Saunders as he entered the room. "I'm glad you are all back safe and sound sergeant. I hope you and the squad got the rest you needed because I have a job for you. "

"Well, Sir I got some rest and you could say the men are rested to some extent; but more to the point they're pretty much hung over. You know how it is, they sorta got into the Holiday Spirit and it was 90 proof."

"Saunders, I'm sorry to do this but you're the only squad that is still in one piece. I need you to do a little sight-seeing. You need to sneak into Bettendorf and take look around. S-2 needs to know how many Germans are in the town and what they are up to. Take a radio; no matter what happens you need to report in every hour. "And Saunders, please take care. Sergeants like you don't grow on trees."

"Don't I always, Sir?"

The men were recuperating at the edge of town. They had found a nice little barn. It had four walls that were covered with bullet holes and a dilapidated roof but it was home to them.

Sarge wandered over to his men. "Saddle up, Lieutenant Hanley has given us a mission. S-2 needs us to take a look around in Bettendorf and report our findings."

Kirby slowly moved his head to an upright position. He was afraid if he moved any faster his head would fall off and roll away. "They gotta be kiddin' Sarge. Don't they know that place is crawlin' with Germans? Not to mention the fact that none of us are really up to chasin' or being chased by Germans. I think my Grandma could beat all us in a foot race right now."

"I hate to agree with Kirby but he's right Sarge, none of us are in shape for what the lieutenant has in mind," groaned Littlejohn.

The rest of the men collectively agreed.

"Now that you all have had your say, let me have mine. Get up and get your gear together," screamed Saunders.

The men winced at the sound but moved at an alarming fast pace.

"Kirby go and get ammo. Caje we need a radio and Littlejohn get enough rations for a couple of days. Doc do you need anything?"

"No, Sarge, I'm good. I got enough stuff that will take care of us if we run into any Krauts not to mention our hangovers."

The men returned from their errands and distributed the items. Sarge looked at his men trying to decide who was the least affected by the R & R. It was a crap shoot; they all looked like they had been run over by a tank. "Oh well," he sighed. "Caje take the point, Kirby the rear."

The men were slow moving. "Come on guys breathe in that fresh air, it'll get your blood flowing."

Billy tried to do as Saunders asked. He started to take a deep breath. "Sarge, I think I'm gonna be…." Before he could finish his sentence, Billy was running towards a ditch. Doc went over to Billy and put his hand on his back for support.

"We all told you Billy to stick to one drink but no, you had to try them all even Kirby's not that crazy. Do you feel better?"

"Yea, kinda, the little Germans with those pointy helmets have stopped jumping up and down inside me."

If this was any indication of what was ahead for them; it was going to be one long mission. Sarge shook his head and tilted his helmet down over his eyes.

As the men entered the woods the wind began to pick up and sleet and snow started to fall at a rapid rate. The men were having one heck a time walking. The biting wind blew directly into their faces. The cold icy sleet stung like thousands of bees were attacking them.

Sarge saw a large area of pine trees. He called for a halt. He knew they needed to get out of the wind and the snow even if it was for just a few minutes. "Take five, no make it ten."

The men scurried underneath the boughs of the trees; it seemed to help ward off some of the snow and wind. They cut some boughs and laid them down in the snow, this would help them stay a bit dryer.

Saunders removed the map from his jacket and waived Caje over. "Caje, hand me the radio I need to report in. Checkmate King Two this is White Rook, over."

"This is King Two over."

"No sign of rabbits; should be at McGregor's Garden in about 45 minutes, over."

"Copy that, out."

"How much further is it to Bettendorf, Sarge?"

"Well Kirby, it's about ten and a half miles from Bollendorf. We're about three miles from there. Caje, about a quarter of mile from here is the Sure River. There should be a bridge we can use to cross over. Once we are across there's a hill; when we get down the hill we'll be in Bettendorf."

Sarge pulled out his pack of cigarettes and offered them to Caje and Kirby. Both men rejected the offer. All they wanted was what Doc had in rucksack. They all put out their hands and Doc handed each man including himself some aspirins. Before they knew it the ten minutes were up.

The wind still blew but the sleet and snow had stopped. Caje started out at a nice even pace. When he got to the river he stopped and waited for the squad.

When they arrived Caje had a look of frustration on his face. "Sarge it looks like our guys took out the bridge last night. I don't know how we're going to cross over."

Saunders told the men to spread out and look for a shallow area.

The men shivered just at the thought of crossing an ice cold river.

After a few minutes Littlejohn and Billy headed back up stream where Sarge was waiting. The men were excited and talking over each other.

"Slow down," said Saunders. "Now, one at a time you go first Littlejohn."

"Sarge I think I know how we can cross over. Billy and I found a boat. It's just a little ways down river from here."

"Great, good job men!"

Considering how everything had started, Billy was happy that he could contribute to the mission.

They all waited till the rest of the squad returned.

"Billy and Littlejohn found us some transportation. There's a boat down river, we can row across."

"Kirby was glad but he felt like he had to needle Littlejohn just a bit. "Couldn't you guys at least find something with a motor attached?"

Littlejohn smiled at him. "Come on goldbrick, I'll show you how it's done."

The boat was large enough to carry them all. As they rowed across the river Sarge kept an eye out for Germans but they made it across without an incident.

"We've been really lucky up to now. We have to be very quiet, the Krauts are right over this hill."

Kirby watched Caje in awe as he made his way up the slick ice covered hill. Caje reminded him of a leopard he once saw at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Kirby envied his quickness and agility never losing his footing.

It was if Kirby had just cursed him. Caje had taken a moment to catch his breath. As he started to climb again he reached for a bush to help him up. The bush gave away and Caje fell on his backside and slipped all the way down the side of the hill.

Kirby stood there in shock for a moment. "I'm sorry Caje, are you alright?"

"Yea, I'm OK. My ego's a little bruised but I fine. "Why are you apologizing Kirby you didn't do anything."

"Yea, I know but I was bein' kinda envious and you fell."

Sarge turned and looked directly at Kirby. "You know Kirby if your thinking is all it takes for someone to fall, then S-2 better check you out as their next secret weapon. Now let's all try to get up that hill as quietly as possible and without any more mishaps. I'm surprised the Germans didn't hear all that noise we've been makin'."

All the men became extra careful as they made their way to the top. Sarge called in to Hanley to let him know that they had arrived and once they got down the hill they would begin checking around.

It was just as treacherous going down the hill. Saunders kept thinking the same thing over and over again. It became his mantra; 'just get us down without anyone noticing'.

Apparently the gods heard him; the squad made it down the hill without anyone hearing or observing them.

By the time the squad got into the town the sun had begun to set. They carefully crossed an open field and entered Bettendorf.

They needed to find a place to set up. Doc noticed a house at the edge of town. "Sarge do you think that house is empty?"

"Kirby, you and Billy go check it out, said Saunders."

"Come on Billy you're on me."

The men went around to the back of the house. Billy was covering Kirby as he kicked in the door. The men searched each room finding them empty. Kirby went to the front door and gave the all clear sign.

The rest of squad ran quickly into the house.

Kirby was stomping his feet to get some circulation going. "Sarge could we take a break and let our feet thaw out and maybe eat something?"

"Alright, take fifteen and break out your rations. That should give you some time to thaw out. After that we gotta get back out there and see what the Germans are up to."

"Gee, thanks Sarge," replied Kirby as he ripped into his box of rations. Saunders could barely contain himself as he watched Kirby. He looked just like a little kid on Christmas morning opening his gifts.

After they were done eating and had warmed up some Sarge called them over. He pulled out a piece of paper and began to draw a little map. "We need to break up into twos. There are three main roads going in and out of this town. Cage and Kirby, I want you to take the most westerly road. Littlejohn and Billy, you take the center. That leaves Doc and me the road east of here. I think, Doc it might be easier if you and I go out the back. I want you all to return here in thirty. Be careful."

The men blacked out their faces, checked their ammo and rifles and departed the house. Caje and Kirby had to cross the open field again and the center road to get into position. They crawled through part of the field. Once they got to the center road they tried to stay in the shadows hoping no one would see them. The men found an old shed that them cover and they were able to see some of what was going on.

Next it was Billy and Littlejohn's turn. They also crawled through the field. They got the center road and began running lightly over the snow until they came to a house that was completely dark. Hoping there wasn't anyone there, Littlejohn twisted the knob. It opened easily. He covered Billy as he went into the house. Billy was getting good at checking out buildings. It looked as if no one had been there for a very long time. They went upstairs and could see the town square from their position.

The Sarge and Doc slipped out the back and work their way up the east road. As they passed some of the houses, the men could see little slits of light coming from the windows. They had worked their way almost to the end of the road without finding a hiding place. Finally Saunders saw a small garage. They walked around to the front of the building. He slowly opened the large door and found the place empty.

"Ok Doc, let's see what the Krauts are up to."

All the men were able to see German troop carriers stopping and unloading soldiers by the minute.

Behind the troop carriers Sarge and Doc heard the loud sound of an engine. For the first time they got a good look at a Tiger Tank.

"Sarge that's the biggest thing I have ever seen."

All at once the tank moved forward and parked in front of the garage door; Sarge and Doc were stuck. The engine was running and they hoped the tank would move soon.

When the thirty minutes were up each of the men began to slip out of their hiding places to make their way back to the house. They kept their eyes open for the enemy; there were German soldiers everywhere.

When Caje and Kirby entered the house; Littlejohn and Billy were already there.

"Where's Doc and the Sarge? They shoulda been here before any of us.

"I don't know Kirby, we just got here," said Billy. "We oughta check in with Lieutenant Hanley soon."

"Let's wait a bit longer," said Caje.

Kirby kept pacing the floor and peeking out the window. "Do you think they got caught, Caje? Maybe we should go and look for them."

"I don't know any more than you do, Kirby but your right we better go look for them. Littlejohn, you and Billy stay here. If Kirby and I aren't back in fifteen minutes call in and let the lieutenant know what has happened. "

"Well Caje, at least we know which way they went."

The guys headed out the back and started working their way down the backside of the road. Caje and Kirby could see the lighted windows. The men knew that Saunders and Doc were not there. They just kept looking; hoping that they would see a potential hiding place. At long last they set their eyes on a garage.

"Stay here Kirby, I'll be right back. I'm gonna see if they are in there."

Caje proceeded to the front of the garage but stopped in mid stride. He couldn't believe his eyes. Caje turned around and made a mad dash back to Kirby.

_"Mon Dieu, un char blindé Tiger."_ ("My God, an armored Tiger tank.")

"Caje, you know I don't understand that Frenchie talk", whispered Kirby.

"Kirby, there's a Tiger tank in front of the garage. We gotta work fast; we need to find out if they are in there."

Kirby and Caje bent down and started looking for a loose board.

"Caje, I found one."

Kirby pulled out his bayonet and began prying away the board. He hoped the noise of the engine would cover the cracking sounds.

Doc and Saunders heard the breaking of the boards and made their way to the back of the garage.

Cage leaned down and whispered, "Sarge, are you in there?"

"Yea, were here."

"We'll have you out of there in a minute."

Kirby doubled his efforts and pried off a couple more boards. He made a hole large enough for the men to squirm through. Once released from their self-imposed jail cell, Sarge asked if anyone had called in.

"I told Littlejohn to call Lieutenant Hanley in fifteen minutes."

"Alright Caje, let's get back."

The men headed back to the house to find out what the lieutenant had said.

"Boy I'm glad you're back Sarge. I tried calling and all we got was static.

"It's no good; were too low. We need to get to higher ground in order for Hanley to hear us," said Sarge."

"I've got any idea," said Kirby. I know it'll sound crazy, but what if we go back up the hill and call in to Hanley."

"Kirby, that is crazy. Are you nuts? The moon is full and the Krauts would be able to see us a mile away. We'd be sitting ducks."

"Look Littlejohn, the Germans will think we were just one of their own squads. Whadda you think Sarge?"

"Well Kirby, its farfetched idea but it just might work. Let's get out of here.

The men headed out the door and made their way up the icy hill.

They acted as if they were just another squad. Littlejohn just knew that they were going to be caught, there were Germans everywhere.

But Kirby was right; the Germans didn't pay any attention to them.

When they got to the top of the hill Sarge took the radio and called in, "Checkmate King Two this is White Rook, over."

Hanley had been pacing the room waiting for Saunders' call in. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the radio came alive. "This is King Two, worried about you and the rabbits over."

"Found McGregor's Garden; it's over run with rabbits. Also found a large flock of pigeons, over."

"How many, over."

"Not sure, counted five could be more, over."

"We'll be sending chorus girls. Do you have coordinates, over?"

"Yes, here are the coordinates, VP744616, do you confirm, over?"

"Confirmed, chorus girls should be there in twenty, out."

"Alright, we gotta get down this hill before the bombers get here. We have less than twenty minutes, let's go."

Even though it was moon bright, it was still hard going. Kirby slipped and slid more than half way down the hill. It didn't hurt him so he decided to try it again. "Hey guys, its ok, just sit and slide."

They all sat and slid down the hill. By the time they hit bottom they could hear the planes overhead.

"Let's move shouted Saunders."

The squad was running towards the river when the first load of bombs hit the town. They got to the boat just in time to see the hill being blown to bits. There was fire everywhere.

They crammed themselves into the boat and paddled as fast as they could.

"I hope none of those bombers think we're Krauts and decide to take us out," yelled Caje.

"That's a great thought," shouted Kirby. "I sure don't want to end up as fish food."

The men were rowing the boat as fast as they could. Without warning, Caje's prediction came true. The men were in the middle of the river when a bomb exploded. It was as if a giant whale had opened its blowhole and out spewed a tremendous amount of water with bits of shrapnel.

The men were completely soaked to the skin.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Sarge.

Kirby was sitting in the stern of the boat. He could feel a sharp pain in his arm. "I've got a piece of shrapnel in my arm."

"We'll be ashore in a minute Kirby; Doc can take a look at it."

The men helped Kirby from the boat. Sarge could see that he was bleeding badly. Doc could see that it was deeply imbedded couldn't remove it. He took out the sulfa and a bandage. "Kirby I can't get it out; all I can do is wrap up the wound."

"Okay Doc, it ain't hurtin' too much."

"Hurry up Doc. We've gotta keep movin' otherwise we're gonna freeze to death," said Saunders.

"Couldn't we start a little fire, Sarge?"

"We're still too close to the Germans, Billy. If they see a fire they'll be over here in no time flat to see what's goin' on; maybe when we get closer to our lines."

The squad kept moving trying to stay warm. The cold wind pierced through their wet clothes like a knife but there was nothing they could do. Their only thought was to get nearer to their lines.

The men had been running and walking for over an hour and a half; Sarge called out to Billy and Caje. "Find some wood and get a fire started. I think we are close enough to our lines."

Sarge stood watch as the men huddled around the small fire and each other trying to get their bodies warm. After five minutes Littlejohn walked over to Saunders, he knew the Sarge had to be freezing. "Sarge go get warm, you're gonna freeze to death. I'll stay here and watch."

Littlejohn watched the Sarge as he walked stiff legged towards the fire. Each man took turns watching the woods as the others warmed themselves.

They had just extinguished the fire when they heard a thrashing coming through the woods. The men aimed their rifles towards the noise. Two very young German soldiers ran directly at them _don't shoot._

Sarge pointed his tommygun at the boys, "hände hoch," replied Saunders.

The two boys placed their hands above their heads.

"Do either of you speak English?"

"Yesss Ser-geant we both do," stuttered the young boy. "We saw your fire, we are so cold. We are from Bittendorf; the bombs were blowing up everything."

"Billy, try and get the fire going again."

"Danke."

The men again huddled next to the fire with their young captives. Finally Sarge told the men that needed to get going.

All the men moved at a steady pace until they were back behind their lines.

The Sarge sent all the men with Kirby to the aid station to get checked out while he reported in.

Saunders walked into the CP. "I just wanted to let you know lieutenant that we're back."

Hanley noticed that there was frost on the sergeant's jacket. "Are you all right, did anyone get hurt?"

"We're fine. Kirby got hit by some shrapnel and we all got wet so I made the men go to the aid station. The bombers got a little too close for comfort when we were crossing the river."

"You better get yourself checked out, Sergeant."

"I'll do that. Oh, by the way we also brought you back a little gift. You know with the holidays and all, we thought you'd like a couple of soldiers to interrogate."

"Gee, Saunders I didn't get you anything."

"Well Sir, it's the thought that counts."

"I know you just had R & R. How about you and the squad standing down for the next twelve hours?"

"Sounds good to me, thank you Sir."

"Let the squad know they can now sleep off their hangovers."

The women had sat there enthralled by the story. They never moved, never said a word. They barely noticed the food that was put in front of them.

"Thanks Chip, said Paul's wife Genevieve. "I know how hard it is for all of you to talk about the war.

"Well honey, which arm was it?" asked Laura as she sat on Kirby's lap.

"Ya know I'm not sure I think it was the right arm. We can look for it later tonight." He gave her his crooked little smile and kissed her.

Sophie had also been listening to the story. When it ended she began clearing the table. She smiled at all of them.

Kirby noticed Sophie and caught Caje's eye and began to laugh. "I believe Caje, this is how it all started."

THE END

_**(This is based upon a little true story about two soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge. One was carrying the radio the other was a BAR man (I figured it could be a good story for Kirby and the rest of the squad.). The soldier needed to report in but was in a valley. The BAR man came up with the idea to go up a hill to get better reception even though the Germans were all around them. He figured that Germans would think it was their own soldiers. It worked and after the radio man gave his report they were able to leave.)**_


End file.
